JAL takes you onAnime Tourism

Japan is the birth place of anime, and Anime Tourism arranges trips to some of the real locations used in anime throughout Japan. The JEP offers a reduced price, as you step into the scene of your beloved anime.

Hulaingbabies

Some years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 hit a city called “Iwaki,” Fukushima Prefecture. Today, the city is well in the process of rebuilding. Now, Suzu and Fumi are 7th graders going to a junior high school in Iwaki. The two girls, one day, kicked off a hula team in their school, on a whim. Yet they soon lost their enthusiasm to dance hula, and the dance team was taking it easy. One day, however, a student from Finland, Mona, joined the team. This rekindled the two Japanese girls’ motivation, and they are now busy winning new teammates and practicing for a hula contest. This is a story of adolescence depicting the girls of Iwaki, a laid back city of hot spring spas, going all-out with hula.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

If you're an ocean-lover, Fukushima Aquamarine is a great place to visit. After walking through a triangular glass tunnel, visitors will be brought to the main tank exhibit. This exhibit mimics the natural coastal movement of the Fukushima Sea, when the cold Kurile Current flows from the north to meet the warm Black Current from the south.

BanG Dream!

This is an animation edition of a story distributed by an extended mix of media --- comics, novels, smart phone games, live performances, and so on. A girl named Kasumi, when she was a little child, looked up at the starry sky and sensed some “vibrations from the stars.” Ever since then, she has been searching for some brilliant, exciting, “star-like” experiences. Now she is a high school student. One day, she found a star-shaped guitar at a pawn shop and sensed some “vibrations” from it. She talked to the pawnbroker’s daughter, Arisa, who kindly gave her the guitar. So, she decided to launch a band. Together with Arisa and other friends at the high school, Kasumi is working hard to have a live performance at a live music hall.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

Catch a glimpse of what Tokyo was like in the old days by riding on the Toden Arakawa streetcar line. Within Tokyo, the Toden Arakawa line is one of the only two operational streetcar lines today. The streetcars mostly pass by quiet residential neighbourhoods, away from the busy, often-congested roads.

SARAZANMAI

This is an original anime directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara, who directed some other masterpieces like “Revolutionary Girl Utena.” The new work is situated in Asakusa, a district in Tokyo rich in tradition. There, three 8th-grade (2nd year in junior high school) boys, Kazuki Yasaka, Toi Kuji, and Enta Jinnai, met with an enigmatic form of life called “Keppi,” which looks like “kappa” – a legendary creature of East Asia that usually resides in water. One day, Keppi took an imaginary organ called the “shiri kodama,” believed to reside inside the anus, out of the three boys’ anuses by force. Having lost this fictitious organ, the three turned into “kappa.” To return to their human forms, said Keppi, the boys had to take the shiri kodama from some zombies and bring them to Keppi. Yearning to be humans again, the three, now in the form of kappa, fought the zombies.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

During the Edo period, Taito City used to be a major center of commerce and culture. Master artisans developed a wide variety of traditional handicrafts which are still being made to this day. Browse some of Asakusa's unique stores still selling these traditional handicrafts while enjoying beautiful views and avoiding the crowds at Sensoji Temple or the Nakamise shopping street.

GeGeGe no Kitaro

Half a century has passed since this comic series was first animated. Now, this is Season 6. Some 20 years into the 21st century, many are oblivious of the very existence of specters. Against this background, this new season’s stories develop. Towns and cities are experiencing mysterious happenings that are beyond explanations of science. So Mana, a 13-year-old girl, sends a letter to “Yokai Post” (a postal service for communicating with specters), though she is not 100% certain it will work. Then, GeGeGe no Kitaro appears to her. Kitaro listens to Mana, and is convinced that those mysterious happenings are caused by some specters. Now, he is busy hunting for specters that have entered our world of humans.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

Located near the western border of central Tokyo, Chofu City is an easy day trip for visitors. The historical city is also known for its local soba noodles, temples, shrines, stunning botanical gardens and relaxing atmosphere.

Just Because!

This is an adolescent love story featuring 12th graders (third and last year in Japanese high schools) of Kanagawa Prefecture. The winter (concluding season) of the third year of high school is when the least number of students move to another high school. Still, Eita Izumi did just that, since his father was relocated by his employer to an office in the town he used to live back in his junior high school years. Eita visited his new school to greet people there, and met Haruto Soma, a friend of his back in his junior high years, as well as Mio Natsume, a classmate of his at the same junior high. These three and the people around them expected nothing much out of this reunion, yet actually their hearts started to move in an unknown direction.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

The Enoden, or Enoshima Electric Railway, is one of Japan’s most famous railway lines. Riding the Enoden provides the chance to stop at all of Kamakura’s major attractions — including the Great Buddha statue (near Hase Station), and the pristine beaches overlooking Enoshima Island (near Enoshima Station).

GIRLY AIRFORCE

This story is situated on the Earth, exposed to threats from an unidentified flying object called “Zai,” which appeared all of a sudden. The earth forces, to counteract Zai, developed “Daughters,” an enhanced version of existing jet fighters, as well as “Anima,” an artificial life form in the shape of a human girl. Now, Kei Narutani, who fled to Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture from Zai’s assaults on hishometown, met with “Gripen,” an Anima who flew a scarlet Daughter. Kei, himself long yearning to fly, soon fought Zai together with Gripen.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

Komatsu City in Ishikawa prefecture combines cutting edge technology and architectural design with its traditional manufacturing heritage. One example of this fusion is the Science Hills Komatsu, am ultra-modern science center that’s also an architectural marvel, which opened in 2014. The center’s exhibits focus on the developments in science, electronics, automobiles and robotics around the world.

Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki

Kaito Jin is a high school student who grew up in Tokyo. He has moved to Nagoya, where he met Monaka Yatogame, a high school girl and speaker of a very Nagoya-ish language. Though Kaito found her cat-like appearance very attractive and lovely and tried hard to befriend her, the girl proved to be so hard-to-get and did not respond at all --- This hot anime is a local comedy that lets you appreciate lovely the Yatogame-chan and many good things about Nagoya and the surrounding areas. The production staff insist on creating the very best of comedy, an attitude demonstrated by the selection of the voice actors and actresses – the major actors and actresses grew up in the same prefectures as the anime characters – namely, Aichi, Gifu, and Mie.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

Among the many castles in Japan, Nagoya Castle stands out as one of the most architecturally significant. With its majestic building and meticulously landscaped castle yard, visitors to Nagoya Castle can truly feel like they stepped back in time 400 years ago. Each floor of the castle has exhibits that help visitors envision how life was like back in the old days.

GeGeGe no Kitaro

Half a century has passed since this comic series was first animated. Now, this is Season 6. Some 20 years into the 21st century, many are oblivious of the very existence of specters. Against this background, this new season’s stories develop. Towns and cities are experiencing mysterious happenings that are beyond explanations of science. So Mana, a 13-year-old girl, sends a letter to “Yokai Post” (a postal service for communicating with specters), though she is not 100% certain it will work. Then, GeGeGe no Kitaro appears to her. Kitaro listens to Mana, and is convinced that those mysterious happenings are caused by some specters. Now, he is busy hunting for specters that have entered our world of humans.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

Get transported to a vast desert when you visit the amazing sand dunes in Tottori. The Tottori Sand Dunes are Japan's largest dune system; spanning over 30 square kilometers. Unlike deserts in other parts of the world, the Tottori Sand Dunes are located right next to the Sea of Japan, producing a vivid contrast between the deep blue sea and the beige sand.

Teasing Master Takagi-san

This is Season 2 of an animated youth comedy. The original comic series has sold altogether more than 7 million copies. The series is renowned for its stories of a boy and a girl who almost fall in love with each other, but fail to catch that opportunity. A boy, Nishikata, enters a junior high school, and is given a seat right next to that of a lovely girl named Takagi, who is a genius at teasing people. After moving into the second year in the school, the two still find their seats right next to each other. So, Nishikata is now trying to retaliate to Takagi’s teasing, but the girl is an expert in reading the boy’s mind. Can he successfully tease the expert?

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

Located to the north of Shikoku, Shodoshima Island is known for its stunning coastal scenery, beautiful mountain ranges, and year-long warm climate. Combined with its Mediterranean climate and olive cultivation, Shodoshima is likened to Greece — making it a popular destination at any time of the year. Shodoshima also has its own Buddhist temple pilgrimage, with 88 temples ranging from small rustic structures to huge modern meditation halls (not to be confused with the larger Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage).

HAKATAMENTAI！PIRIKARAKOCHAN

This original anime is situated in a city that resembles, but not precisely is, Hakata, a district of Fukuoka, Kyushu. The story takes place in a shopping street there. The characters include many “fairies” of different foods that make Hakata famous, such as: “Piri Karako Chan,” a fairy of “mentaiko” (spiced cod roe), “Motsu-nabe Oyaji” , an old male fairy of a stew of boiled animal offal known as “motsu-nabe”, “Amaou,” a brand of strawberry called “Amaou,” and so forth.
Piri Karako Chan and her friends make a racket, covering the whole street with spiced cod row, and holding a “ramen” (soup noodles) duel between Hakata and Kurume, two places renowned for their styles of “ramen”, and so on, to create this wild comedy.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

Yatai are mobile food stalls that sell a variety of foods, such as ramen, sake and other drinks. Fukuoka is especially known for its tradition of yatai, many of which set up around the department stores in Tenjin once the sun sets.

IRODUKU：The World in Colors

Hitomi Tsukishiro, a descendant of a clan of witches, lost her color vision at an early age and developed problems expressing her emotions. One day, when she was seventeen, a magic trick by her grandma, Kohaku, sent her back to 2018, 60 years before the time this story began. When Hitomi came back to herself, she found herself in the room of Yuito Aoi, a student of Minamigaoka High School. Hitomi noticed a painting made by Yuito, and for a moment her color vision was restored. Soon she met with her grandma, Kohaku, who was now 60 years younger. As she spent her days at the high school with Yuito, Kohaku, and others, Hitomi discovered some thoughts that were very important.

JAL Recommended Sightseeing Spot

In 1634, the “Spectacles Bridge”, or Megane-bashi, was built over the Nakashima River. The aptly named bridge was built in Nagasaki by Japanese monk Mokusu of Kofukuji Temple. “Spectacles Bridge” earned its name from the reflection of its arches in the river which resemble a pair of glasses.

Reservations & Services

JAL Japan Explorer Pass

JAL Japan Explorer Pass is a simple and low cost fare for travelers wishing to explore the unique culture and feel of local Japan. The fare can be used to access over 30 cities across JAL’s domestic network.